The Maelstrom
by Our Splendid Songs
Summary: The gap of distance can make the heart grow fonder...or it can drive two people further apart. The gap has been shoved in between the Bassist and the Drummer. Maybe their bond is wearing thin and it's time to move on. Or maybe Fate is testing their strength and trust in one another? Ritsu's frustration and Mio's confusion create the biggest maelstrom their bond has faced yet.
1. Secret Admirer?

**A/N:** Hello people and welcome to my story :3 This story was inspired by many things actually. Mostly episodes in the K-ON! series but other things such as songs and stuff inspired it as well. This story is kind of sad too so beware xP. **If you're new to the series you need to have watched Season 1 Episode 13 Winter Days before reading this otherwise you won't get some of the references.** Oh and HAVE YOU GUYS SEEN THE MOVIE YET? OMG it was so great! I watched it yesterday on animefushugi (-or something like that anyways lol) and it was fabulous! It was mostly AzusaxYui focused though and a scene I wanted to see apparently didn't make it into the actual movie :c Oh well. Anyways here's the first chapter of "The Maelstrom"! Enjoy and review. Criticism welcome.

**Also Please Note: **I will be using words such as **Rewind Play Pause FastForward **to better illustrate which parts of the story are happening when so hopefully no one gets confused.

* * *

**Chapter I: Secret Prince/cess?**

Mio sat on the couch and tuned the new strings she had just put on her bass. Of course the others were messing around at the table and she would soon join them but for now it was time to bond with her beloved instrument. She had always felt a personal connection to the bass ever since she had first started playing. Many people often overlook the bass and most can't even tell you the bass player's name in their favorite band, which is exactly how Mio felt for most of her life. Kids in her class had never bothered to play with her or get to know her since she never stood out. That was just fine with her though she didn't like to stand out.

In a strange stream of consciousness she was reminded of one classmate in grade school that found interest in her meek behavior. Ritsu Tainaka. The reminder brought a bittersweet feeling of warm friendliness and slight irritation. Mio's brow furrowed in an annoyed expression at Ritsu's idiotic behavior.

_But… _Mio sighed and shook her head. She finished bonding with her bass and went to her normal seat at the table.

"Mio-chan!~" Yui stretched over the table to hand Mio a small folded piece of paper.

"What's this for?" Mio inspected the paper closely unsure of whether to open it and inspect its contents.

"Nodoka handed it to me in the hallway after the bell rang. She said it fell out of your desk and she tried to give it to you but you left too quickly." Yui stared curiously at the note as well and was still leaning forward over the table.

"Open it, Mio-chan!" Mugi spoke excitedly and held her hands to her face.

"It's probably a love letter from Mio's fanclub." Ritsu cleared her throat and batted her eyelashes, "Oh, Mio~", Ritsu began in a high-pitched mocking tone; "I love you so much! I've loved you ever since you flashed your pan-" Ritsu's mouth was clamped shut by Mio's hand.

"Wah! Shut up, Ritsu!" Mio still felt the humiliation of that dreadful moment from last year's school festival.

"Mio-senpai, open the letter I want to see it too!" Azusa smiled calmly and almost reassuringly.

"Ah, r-right." Mio nervously opened the note and looked over its contents.

Whoever wrote it had neat handwriting she noted and then began to read it.

_Akiyama-san, I have noticed you for some time now and I must say I have become fascinated by you. I adore how your eyes sparkle whenever you have your bass in your hands and how you get so captivated on stage. You're always acting so shy in public but once you start to play on stage I can see the shyness leave your very being, replaced by pure joy and happiness. I admire you beyond words and hope you will soon grace me with your presence. I have work today but maybe tomorrow? Meet me outside by the school's entrance after school if you'd like to see me. I'll be waiting, Akiyama-san._

_~ S. A._

"So? What's it say, Mio?" Ritsu tried to peer over the top of the paper.

Mio jumped and blushed lightly. "Oh! It's uhm…a love letter…"

The others just stared at her for a moment in shock. No one had ever gone this far and given one of them a love letter. Mio wasn't exactly sure what to feel. Mostly she felt embarrassed but another part of her was deeply confused and wondering who her admirer was.

"Does it say who it's from?" Mugi asked in wonderment.

"No, it just says 'S.A.' at the bottom."

"That must stand for Secret Admirer! Congratulations, Mio-senpai!" Azusa piped up.

"Tell us what it says, Mio-chan~!" Yui was wiggling anxiously in her chair.

"Uhm, it says that they'll be waiting for me at the gate tomorrow after school. They were going to meet me today but they had to work." Mio was still holding the letter and rereading its contents.

"How romantic!" Mugi breathed. "I can't wait for tomorrow now!" The blond went into a small giggling fit.

Yui smiled a little, "But you aren't the one meeting them, Mugi-chan."

Mio realized that Ritsu had not made any snarky comments as of yet. She folded up the paper and looked at her friend who had a surprisingly unemotional expression.

_Ritsu's upset. _Mio could tell since her friend always had some sort of expression upon her face. "What's wrong, Ritsu?"

"Ritsu-senpai?" Azusa waved her hand in front of Ritsu's face. Ritsu didn't respond.

"Ricchan~?" Yui waved her hand even more persistently in front of Ritsu's face than Azusa. "What is it, Ricchan?"

Ritsu finally came to and looked up at her concerned friends. "Ah? Oh, it's nothing. I'm hungry, Mugi-chan, do you have any more snacks?"

"I have some cookies left… Are you okay, Ricchan?" Mugi pulled them out of her bag and handed them out amongst her friends.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Ritsu chomped down on a delicious snickerdoodle cookie.

A silent understanding between the other three said to let it go and act as if Ritsu wasn't being strange. Mio nibbled on her cookie with the words from the note repeating in her mind. It gave her butterflies. One side of her was curious as to who it was while the other side was embarrassed and wanted to ignore the invitation. It was difficult to narrow it down anyways. The person could very well be from her fanclub or someone who had watched their performance at last year's school festival or even at the First Year orientation ceremony. What would have helped is if the person had identified themselves as male or female. Mio sighed inwardly and decided to ignore the situation for the time being.

Ritsu, again, kept putting off practicing no matter how many times Mio pestered about it. How did Ritsu expect to go to Budokan if they never practiced? Despite this they continued with the usual routine of talking about nonsense and eating snacks. Yamanaka-sensei even came in to join them before all of the treats were gone.

"Sawa-chan~!" Yui waved enthusiastically.

"I wanted to see you girls before you left for the day." Sawako put on her smile she always wore to keep her image up.

"You just wanted to eat the snacks before they're gone!" Ritsu put on a playfully suspicious look and smirked.

Sawako gave a glare and sat down at the table. "I haven't had any sweets for almost two days!"

"But, Sawa-chan, you had two slices of cake yesterday," Yui once again bypassed the thought-to-mouth filter and consequently made Sawako hang her head and whine.

"I'm going to get fat like this," Sawa-chan whined again and yet still grabbed a cookie.

Ritsu looked at Yui, "You've got nerve, Yui."

Once again the chatter continued late in the afternoon until everyone had to go home. Sawako waved to the girls as she drove past, "See you girls tomorrow!" The five waved back and smiled.

"So, Mio-chan, who do you think the _lover_ is?" Mugi was just as overexcited as always.

"L-lover? They're not my lover! And, uhm, I don't know. Maybe they're from my fanclub?" Mio felt a small blush coming on.

"Do you think he's handsome, Mio-chan?" Yui read the love note again after Mio passed it around.

"What makes you think it's a boy, Yui-chan?" Of course Mugi would be the one to ask that question.

"Hmmm, I guess you're right, Mugi-chan, there are a lot of girls that like Mio-chan in the fanclub." Yui's face contorted in deep concentration.

"Do we have to keep talking about it?" Mio spoke softly and looked at the ground.

"But, Mio-senpai, you're the only one who got a love letter!" Even Azusa was a bit more excited than usual.

"I don't want to be involved with a crush. They might interfere with our practicing." Mio was trying desperately to hide the fact she was a bit excited herself.

They reached the corner where everyone had to split and Yui handed Mio back the note, "Don't be embarrassed, Mio-chan, it's fun!"

"Yeah, I guess. Bye guys." Mio and Ritsu bid their farewells and continued walking home.

"So, Mio, have you come up with another song yet?" Ritsu seemed as cheerful as always.

_She's not making fun of me about the note… _"No, not yet. It's hard to come up with a new song with all of the _distractions_."

"We should think of at least two more new ones before the next live. People might start to think we're boring!" Ritsu made an amusing sour face that made Mio giggle.

"You're more relaxed when you're just around me, Mio." Ritsu's statement caught Mio a bit off balance.

"I've known you since childhood of course I would be."

"What about your crush then? What will you do about them?" Something was definitely wrong with Ritsu. Why was she so angry?

"I don't know. I'm not even sure who it is. I don't even know if I'll like them or not. Why are you so irritated by it anyways?" Some of the pieces were starting to come together in Mio's mind. She wasn't sure if those pieces were correct but why else would Ritsu be so upset?

"I'm not irritated." Ritsu slunk back into a quiet state.

"I won't abandon you or anything, Ritsu. You're the most important to me and no one will change that." Mio tried not to turn red when she said it but it was just her nature to blush.

Mio thought Ritsu said something back but couldn't make out the words so she left it alone for the time being. Ritsu was just being Ritsu. She remembered Ritsu acting somewhat similarly when she first tried hanging out with Nodoka. Mio didn't remember Ritsu being this upset about it however.

_It's one thing to try and make and new friend but something completely different when it comes to love and crushes I guess… _

"Goodbye, Mio!" Ritsu smiled and waved at Mio as they split to go home.

"See you tomorrow!" Mio returned the favor and walked inside her house. "I'm home!" She called to her family and headed for her bedroom to change.

A million thoughts racked her brain that night. The same things kept repeating themselves over and over again: who was the admirer? Why was Ritsu so upset? It was like a broken record on a continuous loop and no matter how many times she tried to move the needle it wouldn't budge. She wanted to ask someone why Ritsu was being so strange but no one knew Ritsu for as long as she did aside from Satoshi but he was young and wasn't around Ritsu as much. Mio sighed and stared at the ceiling. She didn't know when but eventually she drifted to sleep.

* * *

**Rewind**

Everything had been going fine that day. The usual routine. Walk to school with Mio and the others, go through boring classes, mess with Mio during break, chill in the music room after school. Ritsu liked this routine. She found it strange how days could start out like every other but have an extremely different ending. She had only been joking when she asked if Mio's note was a love letter and it never occurred to her that she might be right. Although Ritsu had to admit she saw this coming eventually when the band started.

_Mio's pretty and her voice is mesmerizing. The way she stutters when she's nervous and blushes a cute shade of pink is irresistibly cute. Eventually someone would confess to her… _

Ritsu remembered how it looks to watch Mio's back as she plays and sings. Her gut ached in an unfamiliar way when she thought of someone else feeling the way she did now. Her trance was broken by the others trying to get her attention. She played her spacing out off as nothing. She was good at that. She was also good at tossing things from her mind that she didn't enjoy…which she also did until everyone needed to get home. Of course the walk would only worsen her situation. Everyone wanted to talk about Mio's note and read it. Honestly, Ritsu wanted to read it too even if it did bring a pang of hurt to her stomach.

"Here, Ricchan, read it!" Mugi handed Ritsu the note eagerly.

"It's probably full of cheesy junk," she teased. She read over the words and the pain in her gut became stronger than before. The words were so familiar as if someone had attached some kind of machine from her brain to the admirer's and had them transfer it onto a piece of paper. Ritsu made a humorously disgusted face and handed the note back to Mugi, "Sap, sap, sap. Gross."

"You're just like a boy, Ricchan!" Mugi laughed.

_Maybe I should have been one to begin with. Maybe if I was a boy I could've given Mio a note like that._ If she had only been born a boy things could have been different between them.

Ritsu waved almost mechanically as the others left. The others leaving was a bittersweet feeling. It was good to be alone with Mio given the circumstance but given the same circumstance she would be forced to act more naturally. She resorted to simple conversation about the band but then another thought popped into her mind.

"You're more relaxed when you're just around me, Mio." She didn't quite mean to say it like that or make Mio jump the way she did by saying it.

"I've known you since childhood of course I would be."

Now she admittedly became frustrated. "What about your crush then? What will you do about them?"

"I don't know. I'm not even sure who it is. I don't even know if I'll like them or not. Why are you so irritated by it anyways?"

"I'm not irritated." Ritsu slunk back into a quiet state. _Why are you being such a hypocrite, Mio? You say you're comfortable around me because I've known you for so long and yet you're going to meet some stranger?_

"I won't abandon you or anything, Ritsu. You're the most important to me and no one will change that." Mio blushed and Ritsu noticed but she didn't say anything.

"That's not why I'm angry, Mio," she mumbled quietly so Mio couldn't hear…she didn't _want_ Mio to hear.

Despite her inner feelings she smiled and waved at Mio as if nothing had happened. She could hear her brother playing video games as she walked in.

"I'm home!" She called.

"Hey, Nee-chan!" Satoshi called back. "Mom and Dad are going to be a little late today so dinner might be late!"

"Alright, thanks, Satoshi!" _Good it will give me time to stop feeling so weird._

**Play**

Ritsu flopped onto her bed and stared at the ceiling with a slight headache. Maybe she was suffering from one of those mood swings teenagers get. Usually she could ignore it though and be normal but this one was very strong if that's what it was. She felt kind of bad for acting the way she did toward Mio and picked up her phone to text an apology.

_I should apologize to everyone else too… _

She texted a generic apology to everyone else but took more time apologizing to Mio. She did act the worst to Mio after all. Ritsu read over the text a few times wondering if she was being too personal…or not personal enough.

"_Mio, I'm sorry for being so weird earlier. You know our friendship is rock solid, right? You should really do something about those white dolphins behind you too."_

Ritsu tossed her phone on the bed and grabbed her drumsticks and began drumming on her bag. Drumming always calmed her down and helped her think. Her phone beeped after a moment:

_Text from: Mugi_

_That's okay Ricchan. Are you sure you're feeling okay? I'll bring some healing tea for tomorrow if you're feeling sick._

Ritsu expected that kind of reply from Mugi and texted back: _Thanks Mugi-chan you're the best!_

Ritsu's phone beeped twice more. She was a bit disappointed when Mio's name wasn't one of the two that popped up.

_Text from: Yui_

_Don't worry Ricchan! I'll ask Ui to make her special cookies and bring some to you tomorrow! You'll be the old Ricchan again!_

_Text from: Azusa_

_It's fine, Ritsu-senpai, we all have those days sometimes. A good cup of soup may help if you're feeling ill._

Ritsu sighed. _They all think I'm sick…and they all recommended food. That's the Light Music Club for you I guess._

Ritsu thanked them both and went back to drumming on her bag. Minutes went by and Mio still hadn't texted back. Ritsu glanced at the clock and assumed Mio must be eating or showering. More time passed and still no reply from Mio.

"Nee-chan, dinner's ready!"

"Coming!" Ritsu dropped her drumsticks and joined her family for dinner. In all of the madness she'd forgotten how hungry she was.

"What's wrong, Nee-chan?" Satoshi spoke in a low tone on the staircase.

"What do you mean, Satoshi?" Ritsu stopped and attempted a cheerful smile.

"You're down I can tell. Did something happen with Akiyama-san?" Of course he could see right through her façade he was her younger brother after all.

"Don't worry about it, Satoshi, it's okay. Let's go eat!" Ritsu ruffled her brother's hair and dashed downstairs.

"Nee-chan!" Satoshi gave a playfully annoyed face and followed her.

Dinner was simple and thankfully her parents didn't notice anything suspicious and the conversation was simple.

"Ritsu, help me with the dishes please?" Ritsu's mother asked.

"Okay, Okaa-san." Ritsu disliked doing dishes more than anything but the distraction was nice.

The time was late and Ritsu decided to be the first to take a bath and warm herself from the cold weather.

_I wonder if Mio replied yet._ It was late enough that Mio should've already eaten and bathed.

Ritsu left the bath and returned to her room and grabbed her phone. No new messages had been received.

_Is she mad at me? Mio's never done this before. I guess I screwed up big this time._ She lay back onto her bed with her phone still in her hand and wished the world had a rewind button. Sleep enveloped her shortly.

Ritsu's phone beeped but it didn't wake her. A text waited that said:

_Text from: Mio_

_Ritsu I'm sorry for not replying sooner. I fell asleep. You're right our friendship is solid. I promise I won't leave you ever. Goodnight Ritsu _

_Beep_. _Beep_. _Beep_.

The alarm on her phone roused Ritsu from her sleep.

"What?" she mumbled, "Oh school." With an annoyed sigh Ritsu rose up from the dead and readied herself for the day.

The house was quiet with her parents still sleeping and her brother already off to school. A nice breakfast sat on the counter with a note: _Love you! Have fun at school ~ Mom_

_Heh. Thanks, Mom. _

Ritsu glanced at her phone to check the time and noticed Mio's text. The pain that had been aching in her stomach went away and she smiled.

* * *

**A/N: **Well, there's the first chapter! Abnormally long for what I usually write but that's what I'm aiming for! Anyways let me know how you guys liked the story and if you didn't like something (about my writing) let me know so I can become a better writer. Peace!


	2. Don't Dream of It

**A/N: **Here's the next chapter for you guys! Sorry it took so long it would've been up yesterday but I slept until 1pm and didn't get to write again until 7pm and had some trouble thinking. It should've been up earlier today but when I was almost finished with the chapter I realized it was barely 3,000 words so I had to think of what to add. I'm also going to apologize ahead of time for how much this chapter skips around. The other chapters shouldn't jump around as much as this one did!

**Further Notes: **So a fellow Fanfic member informed me about incorrectly using "sempai" instead of "senpai". I know the correct word is "senpai" but I didn't think too much on it and used "sempai" and "senpai" interchangeably like subbers do XD But then I realized that could seem ignorant to someone who knows the language or offend them when I _know _the proper word is "senpai". So I've fixed this out of respect for the Japanese language but I'm human so I might forget and use it again or may have missed it when proof reading. **If you see any word/tradition/etc that is incorrect please let me know so I can fix it! **Thank you! I will now stop babbling and let you read XD

* * *

**Chapter II: Don't Dream of It**

_Maybe we're trying, trying too hard_

_Maybe we're torn apart_

_Maybe the timing is beating our hearts_

_We're empty_

* * *

"Mio! Wait!" Ritsu ran excitedly to her best friend. _I knew she wasn't mad at me!_ Ritsu was still happy over the text.

"You're so slow sometimes, Ritsu." Mio smiled slightly waiting for Ritsu to catch up.

Despite the bitter cold in the air Ritsu felt warm walking beside Mio. Had it always been this way and she just didn't notice it? Or did she just feel the warmth from Mio's reassuring text message? It was a curious question but she didn't think too hard on it and just savored the moment for what it was. If it were up to Ritsu she could just walk beside Mio for hours on end no matter the weather or location. Ritsu cracked a joke about Mio's cold hands and dodged a famous punch to the head. Mio's reactions were so entertaining and satisfying.

"Ricchan~! Mio-chan~!" Yui waved from across the street and Mugi stood beside her waving as well.

"Yo! Cold morning, right?" Ritsu winked.

"Very! But I have a Mugi-chan for warmth." Yui clasped both hands around a single of Mugi's and stood triumphantly.

"I may need to borrow Mugi's hand since Akiyama-san's hands are as cold as her heart!" Ritsu smiled mischievously as she often did.

"M-My heart is not cold! Idiot!" Mio glared and hid her face in her scarf.

Yui giggled, "Mio-chan, you look like a turtle!" Yui raised her finger to poke Mio and Mio pretended to bite at Yui's finger still looking annoyed. Yui jerked her finger back in shock, "Ho! _Snapping Turtle_!"

"Watch out, Yui, this turtle is the deadly Dangerous Queen Snapping Turtle! You- Ow!" Ritsu was interrupted by Mio's fist slamming down on her head.

"I'm not a turtle!" Mio turned walking to school. "Stupid, Ritsu." She mumbled it but Ritsu could still make out the words.

Things were normal again as if yesterday had never happened. Azusa caught up with them and was immediately attacked by Yui of course. This peacefulness was nice.

* * *

**FastForward**

Mio stared down at the doodles and blurbs she wrote in her notes. She had already grasped the current lesson and tried to think about the subject of her doodles. Only this class was left until school ended and she would get to meet her secret admirer at the front gate. Butterflies fluttered harshly again in her stomach as she thought about it. More than a few times she thought about not going and just pretending she didn't get the note.

_But Yui gave me the note and they all read it. If I don't go they'll think I'm rude for ignoring the person. _The thought made Mio get a headache.

Mio looked out of the hallway window and leaned her chin on her palm. Ritsu was all the way at the front of the class so she couldn't talk to her about any of this. She didn't really want to though Ritsu would probably just make fun of her. Mugi was close but she was still avidly taking notes and Yui was trying to stay awake.

Mio was about to give up and just resume listening to the teacher until she remembered a curious detail about the note. _Didn't Nodoka find the note_ in _my desk? That means whoever wrote the note _must _go to this school. How else would they know what class I'm in or where I sit? But if they knew where I sit then does that mean they're in this class too? Then again they could've just asked someone that was in my class to put the note where I sit for them._

Now that she had figured that part out Mio ran through all of the names of people she knew in the school not just in her fanclub. She knew more people than she thought she did but none of those people had shown any significant or abnormal behavior to express their feelings for her.

_Of course not, that would have given away their identity right away._ Mio sighed inwardly. _Back to square one again. _But at least she had narrowed it down a little.

"Mio," Mugi whispered and Mio turned, "I think the teacher's going to call on you for the answer."

"Ah! Thanks." Mio looked up at the equation on the board. _Simple enough. _

"Akiyama-san, could you please tell us the answer to this equation?" Only one of two things would have caused the teacher to ask her for the answer: the class wasn't getting it, or she had been caught not paying attention. From the look on the teacher's face it was, thankfully, the former and not the latter.

"Twenty-four."

"And can you come up and show the class how you arrived at that answer?"

"Yes." Mio got up and approached the blackboard.

She angled her wrist so she didn't smear the chalk being left-handed and began to mark on the board. Something caught her eye outside and she glanced out of the window to see a silhouette of something or someone but it was too far away to tell what or who it was. _Is it them? _She looked back at the board but when she glanced back at the window the silhouette was gone. _Strange. _Mio dismissed the event and finished the problem on the board.

"Thank you, Akiyama-san."

Mio returned to her seat and looked toward the clock. Class would be over any minute now. She wanted to run away so badly and just forget the person like before but she was trapped between a rock and a hard place. Much to her dismay the bell finally rang to end school.

The class leader rose, "Stand." They all stood. "Bow." And they all bowed.

"Be safe! I'll see all of you tomorrow!" The teacher gave a pleasant smile and waved them off.

Mugi was shaking excitedly and her eyes had that familiar sparkle as they all walked down the hall.

"Why are you so excited, Mugi-chan?" Yui smoothed her messed hair from sleeping.

"Don't you remember, Yui-chan? The lover is meeting Mio-chan today! How romantic! I wish I could go!" Another familiar giggling rose from Mugi.

"That's right I forgot! Now I wish I could go too." Yui pouted. "No fair!"

"You could go instead." Mio had her head hung and her arms wrapped around her stomach.

"Don't be scared, Mio-chan~!" Yui hugged Mio smiling.

She looked over at Ritsu to see what her best friend had to say but Ritsu was busy making faces at herself in the windows' reflections.

_Ritsu… _

Mio stopped at the stairwell to the music room and wished she could just climb the stairs with everyone else. But instead they just wished her luck and went up to the club room without her. She hung her head for a moment before looking forward and making her way to the front doors of the school.

"Mio-senpai!" Azusa met her in passing in the hallway. "Where are you going? Is practice cancelled today?"

"No I… I have to meet the secret admirer today." Mio blushed.

"Oh, right. Good luck then, senpai!" Azusa waved and continued on to the club room.

Another deep breath and Mio walked out into the open area in front of the school. She looked to the gates but no one was there except for the students leaving for home. _Maybe they decided to not show up and just go home? _She wished that was the case but then realized there were an awful lot of people around to be confessing in front of the school. _I should have waited for it to clear. _Despite this fact she walked slowly toward the front gates.

"Hey, Akiyama-san!" Many people greeted her on her way to the gates. She knew some of them but others were giggling First-Years and probably in her fanclub.

No one was waiting at the gates when she got there but she continued to wait for the mystery crush to arrive. Gradually everyone cleared and the front was now empty. She looked back at the school waiting to see if the person would be coming from there.

_Are they not coming?_

"Good afternoon, Akiyama-san."

Mio turned.

* * *

**Rewind**

Class ended and Ritsu stood and bowed as routinely instructed and walked out of class with the others. As soon as the admirer was mentioned Ritsu tuned out and thought about random things. She didn't want that feeling to return like yesterday. Whatever it was. Although as fate would have it the more she tried to tune out the louder the conversation got in her head. She couldn't _not _hear it. Finally she decided to just start making faces in the reflections of the windows and pretend she wasn't listening. Thankfully it worked.

"Bye, Mio!" Ritsu gave a giant smile to her friend and walked up the stairs with the others to the music room. She tried to pretend Mio was just using the restroom but it didn't work very well.

"I brought special tea for Ricchan today." Mugi was pouring their tea and getting the snacks ready.

"Ho! That reminds me! I brought those cookies I asked Ui to make too." Yui ran to her bag and pulled out the bag of cookies. "I ate some though. But they were good!"

"Yui-senpai! You're not supposed to eat things made for other people. Speaking of which I brought my family's soup recipe for you, Ritsu-senpai. It always makes me feel better when I'm sick." Azusa handed a folded slip of paper to Ritsu.

"Thanks, guys, but I'm not sick really. Yesterday was just weird. I'm fine now!" Ritsu gave a triumphant strut to her seat and plopped herself down. _They're such good friends._

"I think the admirer came for Mio-senpai!" Azusa looked out of the window a bit excitedly.

"Really? I want to see!" Mugi rushed over to the window followed by Yui.

Ritsu rose from her seat and stood behind the others. She saw Mio standing and it looked like she was speaking but whoever she was speaking to was blocked from view by the wall. So far the secret admirer was still a secret.

"I can't see who it is!" Yui was moving her head around trying to get a better view but to no avail.

"I guess we'll just have to wait for Mio-senpai to return." Azusa moved from the window and sat down to eat her cake.

"I guess." Mugi's tone was disappointed.

They all were occupied eating their cake until Mugi beamed with an idea.

"Yui-chan, did Nodoka see who put the note in Mio-chan's desk?"

Yui shook her head, "No, she just noticed it drop when Mio-chan left."

"Oh. I see." The silence resumed throughout the room.

That sick feeling returned again in Ritsu's stomach. Now she knew there was someone else that felt the same way about Mio as she did. _And she's talking with them now. _Did she get flutters when she met the crush? Ritsu really didn't want to know the answer to that question. It just made the sick feeling worse when she thought about it. It made her so sick that she wanted to throw up with each bite she took of the cake but if she stopped everyone would ask what was wrong and it would be like Mio and Nodoka all over again. She didn't want Mio to get mad at her again so she kept quiet about everything. Her heart couldn't take that again.

_It hurts._

* * *

**Rewind**

Mio turned to see a boy standing in a grey school uniform. He was very handsome with black hair and blue eyes and his build was average. He stood with a hand in his pocket and his smile was very nice and bright.

"Hi…ah…" Mio felt her face get severely hot.

"Forgive me; I've forgotten to say my name. My name is Kazuhiko Mamoru." He smiled a brilliant smile again.

_How fitting. _Mio thought.

"I'm very honored to meet you miss Akiyama-san. I am a Second-Year student at another nearby school." His voice was very soothing and smooth to Mio's ears but surprisingly young sounding although strangely fitting for his build.

"A-Are you, uhm, the secret admirer?" Her embarrassment and nervousness were rising by the second. _He's about the same age as me._

"I am. What did you think of my note?" Mamoru-san's face even got slightly red from his question.

"I-It was very nice and sweet. Thank you. My friends enjoyed reading it." Mio looked at the ground and shifted her foot.

"I see. I'm glad they enjoyed my little mystery so much." He chuckled.

_Wait a moment… _"If you don't even go to my school then how were you able to get the note in my desk?"

He chuckled again, "I thought you might ask that. My sister is in your class so I had her hide it for me. You probably won't be able to recognize anyone off of the top of your head though. We look nothing alike. My sister is Yasuko Mamoru."

Mio thought his chuckle was enjoyable. _I remember Yasuko-san. He's right they _do _look nothing alike. _"That would make sense. Your sister is very nice." _They may look nothing alike but they have the same feel about them._

"She is a sweetheart isn't she?" His eyes drifted for a moment before turning back to meet Mio's, "Akiyama-san, I have a question to ask of you."

"Yes?" The butterflies in her stomach were thrashing now.

"Would you like to…have dinner some time? I think it would be a better setting for us to get to know one another a little better. Well, at least for _you_ to get to know _me_ a little better." He scratched his head nervously and tried to hide a small blush.

_Dinner? But I just met him! He does seem nice though. _"Okay."

He whipped his head back and stared in shock. "What?"

"I… I'll go to dinner with you." Now it was Mio's turn to look away again.

"Really? That's great! Where would you like to go? I know a really great place but if you have anywhere in particular in mind…" Mio could hear the excitement in his voice.

"A-Anywhere is fine." _Why did I just say okay? What am I doing!_

"When would you like to go? I can free up any day." His voice was almost shaking now.

"Friday after my club activities then. I'll try to leave a bit early from practice." _That won't be hard all we do is drink tea and eat snacks. But I won't tell him that._

"Great! I don't have to work on Fridays. I'll meet you after soccer practice. Oh, that reminds me, where would you like to meet?"

"How about at the station?" _That was random. _Mio twiddled her hair in her fingers.

"Okay then I'll meet you at the station on Friday after practice. I must go now, Akiyama-san, I'll see you then." His smile was still so very bright and his eyes sparkled.

"Right. Goodbye Mamoru-san." She waved as he walked away and breathed a sigh of relief when he was gone from view.

* * *

**Play**

Mio didn't know why she had agreed to go on a date with him. _Date? I guess that's what you'd call it. _The whole event was strange and felt like a dream. She didn't even know if she was actually attracted to him. She had just said those things without thinking or understanding what was really going on. Did she have a boyfriend now? No they had only just met and they didn't even know each other yet. For some strange unknown reason she thought of Ritsu and how her best friend would react to all of this. Ritsu had acted out of character yesterday but she seemed fine now. Mio had to admit even _she _couldn't read through Ritsu sometimes. Although this was also something that had never happened before so she didn't know how Ritsu _would _act.

All of this swam through Mio's mind as she made her way back to the club room with news for the others. Life was so hard to understand sometimes.

"Mio-chan~!" Yui and Mugi exclaimed together.

"Mio-senpai!" All three of them rushed over to hear the news. This was definitely not like Azusa's character.

"Yo, Mio!" Ritsu gave a wave from the table.

"So, who was the secret lover?" Mugi did her usual jumping and giggling routine.

"Yeah, Mio-chan, who was it~!"

"H-His name was Kazuhiko Mamoru. He goes to the other school. He was very nice and handsome." Mio blushed again and her voice was soft.

"So it was a boy then!" Mugi sounded a little disappointed but that was Mugi for you.

"What else, Mio-senpai?" Azusa grabbed onto Mio's sleeve in her excitement.

"Hnm," Mio turned her eyes away. She didn't want to talk about the "date" really. "Well…he asked me out on a date."

"A date?" Everyone in the room shouted in shock. Mio saw Ritsu jump up and rush over.

"What do you mean _date_?" Ritsu stood on her tip-toes to look over the others.

"I mean, we're going to dinner on Friday after club activities. I was also wondering if it was okay with all of you if I left a little early to go home and get ready." She tried to keep her voice as stable as possible.

"Of course!" Yui grabbed Mio's collar, "You can't be late!"

"Uh, thanks, Yui."

* * *

"…_he asked me out on a date."_ Mio's words echoed inside Ritsu's head as she stood there listening to the person she loved talk about the secret admirer. Ritsu wanted to vomit right then and there. The pain in her gut she had felt yesterday multiplied tenfold and it hurt to breathe. Her heart literally felt like it was shattering into a million little pieces. Little pieces that were big enough to mock her but not big enough to put back together. Tears wanted to stream down her cheeks but she couldn't cry standing in the middle of the club room.

_I want to go home… _She couldn't go home though. If she did the others would know she was upset and probably could figure out why and things would definitely be worse than they were now.

"It's getting late and Satoshi asked me to help him with his homework tonight." _I lied. _The others stopped talking and looked at her. "I just remembered."

"Okay, Ricchan, see you tomorrow~!" Yui gave a wave of the hand as well as Mugi and Azusa and said their goodbyes.

Ritsu grabbed her bag and attempted to walk out of the room as casually as possible. Once out of hearing range Ritsu picked up her pace and by the time she reached the school gates she was running. The tears were coming fast and she needed to get to her room before anyone saw her. The rest of her family had gone to visit a friend until later. She could scream and cry as loud as she wanted in her empty house. She hated that boy. That boy was selfishly taking her precious Mio away from her.

_If he loves her he should just leave her alone! _The thought made no logical sense but logic was the last thing on Ritsu's mind right now.

"Ahhh! I _hate_ him!" Ritsu busted through her bedroom door and slammed her bag down. Tears fell nonstop and she dropped to her knees next to the door. She couldn't even move to her bed.

_Stupid Mio… Stupid guy… _She hiccupped. _I hate them both! _That last thought opened Ritsu's eyes wide with shock. Tears continued to stream silently down her shocked face. Did she really hate Mio? No she didn't hate Mio. It was just a spur of the moment thing… Wasn't it?

_If I hate her so much why do I want to see her face right now… _She could never hate Mio.

Ritsu stood up ignoring the rug burn on her kneecaps and walked over to her bed. She was suddenly so tired and drained of energy. Ritsu threw off her coat and school blazer and flopped onto her pillow. The warm pillow was nice on her cool tears.

* * *

_That was strange. _

Mio replayed the day in her head and periodically pinched herself to see if she really was dreaming. The past few days were so drastically out of the ordinary she wondered if she was really in the hospital in a coma dreaming and couldn't wake up. The possibility of such an event was very low however.

"I'm home!" She notified her family of her presence and left her shoes neatly at the door.

"Welcome home, sweetheart!" her mother called from the kitchen.

"Hello, Mama." Mio followed the aroma and went into the kitchen to see her mother and father preparing dinner. "Hi, Papa."

"Hey, sweetheart." Her father came over and gave her a strong hug.

She thought about telling them about the note and her date but decided that wasn't the best thing to say while her father was around. Instead she just offered her help and used the opportunity to forget about everything that had happened with the note, Kazuhiko Mamoru, and Ritsu acting weirdly.

* * *

**A/N: **Ooooh! ;P I put most of my effort into this chapter so far! Hope you liked it! By the way the passage under the title of the chapter is the chorus of the song Empty by The Click Five. I use a lot of those throughout my story because the song is good to listen to to get into the mood for the chapter. Peace!


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